


Circumstances of Our Upbringing

by AceandShadow



Series: The Fisher and The Fighter [4]
Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Songs of War (Cartoon)
Genre: Brotherly Love, Brothers, Gen, Guilt, Hope, Innocence, Play Fighting, Pre-War, Redemption, Spoilers, Swordfighting, don't read if you haven't read S2 and 3 script, kid Achillean is hella awkward, kid Ingressus kinda shy, let them cry, massive spoilers, they just boys okay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-15
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-17 12:47:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,286
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29471916
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AceandShadow/pseuds/AceandShadow
Summary: "He had been raised as a fighter because he wasn’t given any other choice"After learning a skill from Achillean, Ingressus simply must teach one of his and the situation is flipped as Achillean finds himself in an awkward position. Things don't improve as Ingressus rediscovers the thrill of fighting, leaving Achillean broken against the skill of the Voltaris boy. Both must learn from each other as they face the odds of having different upbringings
Series: The Fisher and The Fighter [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2130711
Comments: 1
Kudos: 5





	Circumstances of Our Upbringing

**Author's Note:**

> For the love of god DO NOT read any further if you didn't read SoW script for S2 and S3 because I have taken one of the greatest character arcs/relationships and made it into a whole scene like, heck, these two have a connection that I can't get over
> 
> This contains references to stuff we don't learn until the very end of S3... so... read at your own peril XD
> 
> This is based on the flashback in S3 Ep10 with young Achillean and young Ingressus, but not as accurate as the stage directions given (and also kind of based around P1 and P3 of my series) XD

Achillean wasn’t easily surprised while out and about in Nestoria doing his daily duties and being approached by the hidden Voltaris boy was of no exception. If you’d have asked him how he felt about Ingressus living among the Nestoris only months ago, his stomach would have churned at the thought. Now, it was no different to another Ardoni joining from Kaltaria, Mendoria or Sendaria or even being initiated for the first time.

In fact, for the most part, Achillean welcomed Ingressus’ presence around him.

Even after all this time, Ingressus still chose Achillean to hang around with most. He had gotten to know a few of the other Nestoris, but he connected with none like Achillean. Aegus had even said, himself, that there was most certainly something between the two non-biological brothers that stood out from the rest.

There was, however, one day that Achillean was a little less pleased to see Ingressus and that was on a day that he had received word to meet him in a small clearing in the woods around midday. He wasn’t best impressed at the timing, what with carrying his fishing equipment ready to go about his day, but he figured he’d made the effort thus far and should probably keep going. He had warmed to the Voltaris boy, after all.

The woods were quiet and only the sound of faint rustling from the trees could be heard among the light twittering of birds jumping to and from the branches. Achillean could feel the warmth of the sun’s rays beaming through the gaps in the trees, lighting the grass beneath his feet. He brushed his hands across the great trunks as he plodded forward into the clearing, not too far from the shore. He wouldn’t go into the woods much – he had no need to – but he knew his way to the clearing that Ingressus spoke of.

It was the only area of the woods where no grass grew and instead there was a large circle of dry mud, kicking up dust with the wind. Off to the far side sat a small pond, the water lightly glinting in the sunlight.

Achillean sighed as he looked to the clearing. No sign of Ingressus. He really hoped this wasn’t a trick – he thought of Ingressus as so much more than basic trickery and mischief.

He was startled out of his thoughts by a poke in his back. He gasped as he turned to see Ingressus with a beaming smile across his face, his hands behind his back.

“You came!” he said giddily, his knees bouncing.

“You asked me to…” Achillean smiled sheepishly. He looked Ingressus up and down as the boy couldn’t keep still. He tried to look behind his back and Ingressus turned sharply. Achillean looked at him half-annoyed.

He still tried to look and Ingressus turned yet again. This annoyed Achillean even more, pushing his desire to know why Ingressus was being so secretive.

This time, Achillean tried to run behind Ingressus, but he merely turned once more and Achillean tripped on a tree root, sending him tumbling at Ingressus’ feet. He sighed exasperated.

“What are you hiding?” he asked, slightly angry.

Ingressus chuckled and held out a hand to help Achillean back to his feet.

After he brushed himself down, Achillean folded his arms and scowled at the Voltaris boy, yet Ingressus’ mood did not falter and still his smile beamed in the face of Achillean’s distaste, despite knowing that the Nestoris child was less than pleased by his secrecy.

He chuckled again before pulling out a wooden sword and shoving it in Achillean’s face. His smile opened and all his teeth showed as Achillean unfolded his arms and looked around the sword to stare at Ingressus, his face having turned from frustration to worry.

“W-what is this?” he asked, nervously.

“It’s a wooden sword, silly!” Ingressus was explicitly excited about having this sword and Achillean could tell, yet he could not reciprocate. He turned the sword around backwards and handed Achillean the hilt, gesturing at him to take it.

“Why do you have that…?” Achillean couldn’t help the tone of accusation in his voice.

Ingressus lowered his arm and his face turned as he hung his head in disappointment – he was a little broken by Achillean’s tentative reaction, having convinced himself that he would welcome the suggestion. The lightness in his eyes vanished.

He sighed. “I wanted to return a favour…”

Slowly, he removed his other arm from behind his back to reveal a second wooden sword and both arms slumped at his side, his posture drooped and his smile no longer from ear to ear with excitement. He looked sadly between his two hands, holding the wooden swords before continuing.

“I… I borrowed them from Master Aegus. I told him what I wanted to do, and he thought it was a good idea, but I sense by your reaction that it…probably wasn’t…”

Achillean was a tad confused by Ingressus’ sudden change in mood for he didn’t understand what he meant by wanting to ‘return a favour.’ He had asked him to meet him in the woods on a random day, surprised him by jumping out from behind, hidden something behind his back and waved a wooden sword in his face. Far be it from Achillean to be suspicious of the Voltaris, but something didn’t sit right with all of that and, naturally, he would be wary of his intentions.

He stood gawking at Ingressus as he looked to the ground, shuffling his feet on the grass, watching as each strand bounced back against his weight. He didn’t know what to say.

He looked around him at the trees, swaying with the wind. He looked to the bushes as they danced alongside the tree trunks. He looked to the clearing behind him and saw the sunshine on the dry mud in the centre, illuminating the land. He turned back to the upset Ardoni.

“What is it that you want me to do?” he asked. Ingressus perked up a little.

“You taught me to fish,” he began, stepping towards Achillean again. “I wish to teach you one of my skills – how to fight…”

If Achillean wasn’t shocked before, he most certainly was at this development. His eyes displayed pure worry as he looked between the two wooden swords in Ingressus’ hands, knowing full well that he would have to admit it sooner or later:

“I- I’ve never even _held_ a sword before…” He looked at Ingressus with all the sincerity that he could muster to see that a smile had inched across his face. His reaction was not as he had anticipated.

Ingressus laughed and shook his head.

“That does not surprise me,” he said quietly before moving a sword to the other and placing a hand on Achillean’s shoulder. He knew Achillean wasn’t a fighter. A part of him was glad of this. He would have hated it if Achillean had grown up in the same circumstances as himself and it meant that he still had something to give back for the patience that Achillean had given him all this time.

He looked into Achillean’s eyes and let go of his shoulder.

“I had never caught a fish until meeting you – everything can be learned with time and effort.”

Achillean smiled a little. He still didn’t like the idea of learning to fight – using swords or wielding Songs – but something about Ingressus’ eagerness to repay him for his lesson in fishing was admirable and he didn’t want to upset him any more than he already had.

He looked around, thinking of a way to bail from the embarrassment that would surely follow, but nothing he thought of was going to be enough. Nothing he thought of was going to avoid the inevitable upset that Ingressus would feel. Instead, Achillean would give him the benefit of the doubt once again and let him have his moment.

He sighed as Ingressus held out one of the wooden swords again, gesturing to Achillean. It took a moment, but Achillean tentatively took it from his hands. He looked at it in his own, tilting it this way and that way, feeling the weight. It was only wooden, but it was alien in his grasp.

Ingressus nudged him into the clearing.

They stood apart from one another, Ingressus in a battle stance and Achillean only a few feet opposite, quaking at the knees and still looking at his sword, wondering what he was supposed to do. He held it awkwardly as he stood sheepishly, unsure of how to start.

Ingressus had noticed this and relaxed his stance, cocking his head at the Nestoris child. Achillean returned the gaze and Ingressus could see in his eyes that he was nervous and didn’t know the first thing about what to do.

Calmly, he placed his wooden sword on the ground and walked over to Achillean, turning to stand next to him.

“Take one hand and hold it here. Take the other and hold it there. Put one foot in front of the other like this and turn sideways. Keep your knees bent and your weight on your back foot.” Ingressus took Achillean’s wrists and moved them around the sword to show him how best to hold it before pushing his left foot forward and moving his body back to push his weight onto his right foot. He patted his back to stand him straight and then moved to look at him. He smiled.

“This is kind of uncomfortable…” Achillean said with a wry chuckle. Ingressus also chuckled at how awkward Achillean looked stood in his new position. He returned to his wooden sword and resumed his own battle stance.

“You get used to it…” he said dryly. He took a breath, his eyes never leaving Achillean. “I’m going to come at you, and I’m going to come at you hard. You are going to try and stop me.” Ingressus smiled and watched as Achillean’s eyes widened with the knowledge of what was expected of him.

Ingressus nodded at Achillean in an attempt to tell him he was ready. Achillean stood frozen in his place as Ingressus charged at him, wooden sword poised in his hands. Unsure of how to react, Achillean scrunched his face in anticipation, closing his eyes and turning away.

Ingressus stopped in his tracks only inches away from him and sighed. He placed his hand on Achillean’s shoulder and he slowly opened his eyes, relaxing his body. Ingressus looked between the floor and Achillean’s face as he stifled a laugh.

“That won’t work on the enemy,” he snorted. Achillean’s body drooped. He was ashamed of such a stupid fear and Ingressus could see this. He knelt in front of him. “Don’t worry about hurting me. Just give it everything you’ve got.” He slapped his back before returning to the other side of the clearing again and readying his sword. Achillean did the same.

This time, when Ingressus charged, Achillean simply dodged, stepping sideways. As he turned, Ingressus had spun around and tried charging again – something Achillean wasn’t ready for – and he tripped over his feet trying to move, letting out a little yelp as he hit the floor, dropping his wooden sword. He laid across the clearing, gasping for air, squinting against the sun until Ingressus leant over him and his shadow blocked the light.

At first, Ingressus looked at Achillean with concern before reaching down to him and helping him to his feet, handing him his sword again. Neither of them said anything, but they continued to look at each other, Ingressus amused and Achillean very much the opposite. After a while, Ingressus spoke.

“I did tell you I would come at you hard…” he smiled.

Achillean scoffed. “I know, but a little warning never hurt anyone…”

“Hm… Try again. I will slow down a little – at least until you can find your footing.”

The two boys returned to their starting positions either side of the clearing again and, as before, Ingressus charged and Achillean dodged. This time aware that Ingressus was quick on his feet, Achillean tried to counter his attack by pushing back into him. It was a feeble attempt as Ingressus was smarter than that and dodged the counter, quickly hitting Achillean on the shoulder with the wooden sword and spinning around to hit his other side.

Achillean sighed, exasperated, dropping his sword.

“You have experience in fighting. I am just a fisher…”

Ingressus could hear the disappointment in Achillean’s voice and he put down his sword again.

“Do you remember when you taught me to fish?” he asked quietly. Achillean turned to him and simply nodded. “Then you remember how I was, trying something new?”

Achillean thought back to that day they spent on the pier and how nervous the Voltaris boy was holding the rod for the first time, having a few dubious attempts and the frustration that sent him into a brief moment of despair. Only a small scar remained on the back of his shoulder from the fishing hook, but he was okay, and the day ended with the boy the happiest Achillean had ever seen. He needed to remember that he was now in that same position – trying something new, having it go wrong and getting frustrated.

He nodded again.

Ingressus didn’t need to say any more. He knew that Achillean just needed to focus on getting better at something he had never done before.

He reached for his wooden sword again before picking Achillean’s up and handing it back to him, his smile never wavering.

Achillean sharply exhaled as he set himself in position again, taking the time to listen to his surroundings – the trees’ faint rustling in the wind, the birds fluttering and chirping as they soared above his head. He found his feet on the ground, planted and sturdy, feeling the dirt beneath them. He looked at his sword gripped tightly in his hands and then he focussed on Ingressus a few feet in front of him.

Ingressus gestured to Achillean that he was ready and Achillean responded with a curt nod. With that, Ingressus charged again and Achillean dodged the first attack and the counter. The pair fought back and forth for a few minutes up until Achillean tripped and fell face first in the dirt again.

There was a brief pause while Ingressus waited to see if he needed help getting back up. As he reached forward, Achillean rolled away and jumped up for an attack.

Ingressus recognised this attack from his life before a Nestoris. He knew it beat him once before and he was not going to let it beat him again. He countered Achillean by holstering his wooden sword on his back and throwing the boy over his shoulder, using every ounce of strength he had to haul the young Ardoni onto the floor, hearing the thud as he landed.

Achillean grunted as he hit the ground hard, his wooden sword flying out of his hands. He laid on the ground panting and Ingressus didn’t move.

The world stopped for a moment and Ingressus remained staring at Achillean as he lay sprawled out. There was only one break in the silence:

“What…did you…just…do…?” Achillean said between breaths.

It took a while for Ingressus to respond, but as he slowly stood up, he shook off the sense of urgency that forced his move with a chuckle.

“I came at you hard and you didn’t stop me…”

“You threw me over your shoulder!” Ingressus couldn’t tell if Achillean was surprised or angry and he promptly stopped smiling. He didn’t help Achillean up this time and watched nervously as the Nestoris clambered to his feet and swiped his wooden sword from the ground. He turned to face Ingressus, his face fuming. Ingressus didn’t react.

In silence, they both returned to their starting positions either side of the clearing. The sunlight wasn’t as vibrant as it was when they both had started, and the atmosphere seemed less energetic.

Ingressus looked to Achillean, his face straight and unmoved as he saw the fury ignite in the fisher’s eyes. The embarrassment was getting to him and Ingressus could see it, yet he did not feel bad. He _wanted_ to make Achillean mad. He wanted Achillean to channel this newfound energy into focussing on avoiding his embarrassment and fighting back, learning on the job.

For a while, it was working. Achillean was quickly finding his feet in challenging the Voltaris at his own game. Little conversation occurred while they focussed. Time after time, he failed to beat him, but every time he was beaten down, he got back up quicker and with twice the fire inside. His attacks were more coordinated, his counters were more thought-out, and his movements were more fluid. Ingressus was impressed.

“Try again,” he said for the umpteenth time that afternoon to Achillean, who had quickly shifted his mood, getting up off the floor yet again.

His body had become increasingly bruised from being hit with Ingressus’ wooden sword so many times, yet he didn’t falter. At least not yet.

This new attempt was Achillean’s best yet. He had lasted much longer than Ingressus had anticipated and was learning fast, but Ingressus had one more trick up his sleeve. As Achillean whirled around to counter his thrust, he pulled back, causing Achillean to stumble and allowing himself to jump over him and sidekick him in the hip, knocking him completely off balance. Despite this, Achillean still tried to counter and Ingressus could see his futile attempt at a comeback, yet he did not relent and hit him with everything he had, finishing him off.

Achillean wasted no time in getting back up, but he did not retrieve his wooden sword and stood with his back turned to Ingressus, exasperated and tense.

“I’m done,” he asserted.

Ingressus relaxed and cocked his head.

“You have not defeated me…”

Achillean slowly turned around, his face hurt.

“…and I never will, Ingressus! You have twice the experience that I do. You are a million steps ahead of me…”

Ingressus smiled. Achillean’s anger was good news to him – he could use it and push forward to besting him in battle. It was a completely different method to what Achillean had used to teach him fishing, as that required time and patience, but this required time and effort and he needed to push him to reach into that desire to fight back. What he didn’t realise, however, was that he was also reaching into a darker desire in himself – to triumph over a clan that had once been part of his own clan’s fall, even if it was just a child he was growing up with.

“Good,” he asserted back, straightening his face. “Use it.”

Achillean whirled around to see Ingressus moving back to his starting position, his eyes narrowed. He moved to retrieve his wooden sword, swiping it from the floor again and the pair circled the clearing, poised to strike, neither of them averting the other’s gaze. Both of them could see the fire in the other, burning bright with the challenge.

They resumed and they fought each other with as much energy as they could handle, however, Achillean tired quickly and had begun staggering, his footing becoming less secure and his attacks less thought-out, yet Ingressus did not hold back. He continued to hit Achillean with everything he had. He had entered a state of desperation, fighting as though his life depended on it, reverting to his old defensive self, forgetting that he was supposed to be teaching Achillean one his skills as he had taught one of his. He didn’t realise how bad it had gotten until he changed the pace of his turn to find that Achillean was no longer holding his wooden sword. In fact, it appeared that it had been knocked out of his hands some time ago and he was no longer on his feet.

On the floor in a heap, lay the Nestoris child, covering his face, trying not to whimper as his body shook lightly, showing signs of fear.

Ingressus sighed deeply, ashamed of what had just happened. He reached down to Achillean and laid a hand on his upper arm, causing him to flinch on contact, jerking in fear.

“I- I’m…sorry…Achillean…” he said quietly. “I don’t know…what came over me…” He dropped his sword and knelt next to the boy and waited for a response, his eyes never leaving his side. He listened to the faint whimpers of Achillean’s voice as he trembled, hoping he wasn’t waiting for him to leave.

After a moment, Achillean’s whimpering got louder and he sounded as though he was crying. Ingressus shuffled closer to the boy and carefully moved one of his arms away from his face. Achillean clapped a hand over his mouth, embarrassed by his own cries.

“…Achillean…?”

“I can’t do it, Ingressus. I’ll never be able to do it – I wasn’t raised like you…” His voice broke as he laid curled up on the ground.

Ingressus took this and realised that he had far more problems to work through in himself and he had taken them all out on a small boy helping him settle in a new life – a second life. He had been raised as a fighter because he wasn’t given any other choice. He _had_ to fight for survival. He just wanted something to give back to Achillean for teaching him a skill that he would need as part of being Nestoris; by teaching him a skill that he would need as part of being Voltaris – one such that may even save his life.

But in trying to teach Achillean this new skill, he had become engrossed in the thrill of fighting and forgotten everything that was around him, losing sight of why he was really doing this.

“I am glad…” Ingressus said eventually, his voice low and solemn. This got Achillean to sit up slightly, tears still streaming down his face. His whimpers calmed.

“W-what?”

Ingressus sighed. “I am glad you have not been raised like me. I do not want you to be like me. _I_ want to be like _you._ ”

Achillean wiped away some of his tears from his face and sniffled as he slowly sat up, Ingressus holding his shoulder to support him. He did not flinch this time.

Neither of the boys said anything as they sat on the floor of the clearing with nothing but the sound of the natural woods around them. The sun no longer illuminated the centre of the clearing for having sank with the day, however, its dull beams still shone faintly through the gaps between the trees, lighting the way to the shore.

Achillean sniffled as he slowly calmed himself down from being beaten with a wooden sword several times. Ingressus’ hand never left his shoulder. A part of that was the guilt he felt for going at him so hard all day. The other was the genuine attachment that he felt to him – like family. He watched as Achillean finished drying his eyes and looked at the bruises that were forming on his body and he winced. Achillean noticed this and also looked to his body.

He smiled. He knew he would heal, but Ingressus couldn’t smile back with the thought that he had hurt his brother like this and Achillean could see that his pain was felt not just in himself. He sighed.

After a while, Ingressus stood up and gathered the wooden swords from the floor. He looked at Achillean and still couldn’t shake the horrors he felt.

He looped Achillean’s arm around his shoulders and hauled him back up to his feet and they slowly waddled through the woods and back to the shoreline – Ingressus had to return the swords to Aegus.

“We can come back another day. You can defeat me, then,” he remarked, breaking the silence. “We won’t stop until you get it right.” The pair exchanged knowing looks.

Achillean scoffed in amusement as he limped, clinging onto the Voltaris boy.

On reaching Aegus Nestoris’ hut, Ingressus set Achillean down on an old tree trunk and placed the wooden swords on the table in the corner. He had barely turned around before noticing the sunset and was immediately entranced by the colours in the sky. With that, he became fixated on the sun and sat on the edge of the shoreline, allowing the waves to occasionally grace his knees. Achillean still didn’t understand his fascination, but as with all things about Ingressus, he respected it.

Aegus returned to see Achillean in his hut, his gaze fixed on Ingressus. He looked at him puzzled before turning to see the Voltaris boy on the edge of the shore. On closer examination, he noticed that Achillean was looking a little battered and bruised, and he cocked his head in wonderment. Achillean caught his line of sight and blushed.

“I take it Ingressus taught you… A lesson?” he remarked with a little tone of humour as he set his staff against the wall.

“He taught me well, Master Aegus.”

Aegus folded his arms. “You are learning much more from each other than you realise.” He turned to Ingressus watching the last moment of sunlight. “You have both come a long way since the young boy graced us with his presence. It will not matter what skills you exchange because the real lessons will be learned from one another.” Aegus returned to face Achillean. “You two will pave a new way for the Ardoni. I am sure of it…”

**Author's Note:**

> this fic is 50% foreshadowing/hinting and 50% SoW quotes (from throughout the seasons). did you get em all? XD


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